Chapter 16


Last night at Nina's room.

"I know, one needs to finish at least eight missions. And it's already too late for me."

That was Nina response after hearing the news from Kakashi about not being nominated as a Chuunin examinee.

Standing by the windows Kakashi nodded, expected that the girl would be disappointed and expressed her frustration whether by remaining silent, whining, throwing tantrum or even trying to negotiate with him, like anybody would in this situation.

However Nina acted completely nonchalant and simply shrugged it off. As if she didn't want to be apart of the exam to begin with.

"You're right. I didn't want to participate in the Chuunin exam, even for one bit."

As if having read his mind, Nina spoke. "Simply because I'm not ready for it. Both physically and mentally."

"Is that so." He said, closing the book in his hand. Good, at least she knew where she stood.

It's not that the girl had any choice to begin with, rules are rules. Granted, it made things easier for him when she's being this obedient.

..

...

"Kakashi, the reason I'm calling you here today is because of this."

Hiruzen said, presenting a sealed scroll lying on the table before him. The thing even had his name tag on it, indicating that mission's especially made for him. Opening the scroll and reading the words written inside, Kakashi noticed that it's a stealth mission.

Therefore Kakashi would be in charge of this subject called N, whom he presumed to be Nina. And he would be keeping watch of its growth, as well as guarding its life. Then at the end gathering all of his work into a report, which would be submitted to the Hokage once every three months and consisted of anything about the subject that can be recorded.

The mission has no ranking, no time limit and he will be provided monthly with Ryo, also necessary items to support completing the job.

"A long term side mission?"

Confused by the odd request, Kakashi asked the man sitting before him. As pretty much all of the job which was listed here had already been in progress for weeks. Why wait until now to turn them into a mission? And for what purpose?

In the beginning, it wasn't their plan to keep her in Konoha longer than a month or two. As the Chuunin exam was only an excuse to drag her into action in order measure her abilities, to make sure that she's not a threat.

"Indeed. And you would be the most suitable one to handle it."

After reading several reports about the girl that Kakashi had given to him, Hiruzen thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to let Nina stay at the village, as a normal citizen.

He's about to loosen up the investigation and left the job to a lower rank to take care of. So that Kakashi would have free time to dedicate himself into more important tasks.

Until Kakashi's suggestion happened the other day, it gave him a feeling that the Jounin had collected something interesting from the mysterious girl.

"Since it's you who offer to extend her time in Konoha, Kakashi. I believe you must have several ideas in your mind."

No doubt that it's going to take a while to solve this puzzle and he trusted that Kakashi would do the job well. Another reason to make this into an official mission was so that Kakashi would actually get paid for his work instead of being a freelancer.

...

..

But was that really all? Kakashi wondered, but he didn't have any reason or clue to doubt the Hokage's motives. In the end he could only rely on time, and perhaps tons of efforts, to help him clearing these confusions.

"Are you okay there, sensei?"

Seeing Kakashi had been spacing out for a while, Nina called him and his focus finally returned to her. As if just having awoken from a daydream, Kakashi snapped his finger.

"Right. I believe you still owe me some explanations."

Kakashi reminded Nina about the deal they had made on that day. As he had fulfilled her requests just as she had asked, it's only a matter of time for her to return the favor. And Nina gladly did so, without a moment of hesitation.

"Well, how should I explain this. You can say that we store... records about your world."

Our world? Kakashi's somewhat curious about the way she addressed this place. However, that topic had to wait since there were other important things that needed to be discussed.

"How did they gain those info?"

It's not a surprise if Konoha had enemies watching them from every corner. But for a single girl like her to know this much of details, there could be a spy working right under their noses the whole time.

Plus, Nina never once stated that she's the only one to know about their secrets, so he couldn't ignore the possibility that many more others like her existed and planning an invasion to this place.

"Beats me."

Nina shrugged in response. Admitting to him that she's not the one behind any of those writings, which had been there way before she knew about their existence, and Nina's simply nothing but an observer. Yet how she had gotten her hands onto the records was still a mystery.

Writings? Does that mean the records are stored in scrolls? They can't be common, can they? His eye sharpened at the thought.

"Could you tell me who make those records?"

The question slipped out of his tongue, and Kakashi didn't expect her to actually answer. As a single name could reveal a huge chunks of information for them if they look into it. However Nina didn't seem to care about confidentiality and said it anyway.

"Kishimoto Masashi."

Unfortunately that didn't ring any bell to him. And just like last time, she didn't have anything to backup whether it's a made up character or not. "Is this Kishimoto also a shinobi? Do you know him in person?"

"Maybe." It's rather a short and uninformative reply, then suddenly Nina snickered to herself.

"And how far exactly have you studied about us."

Ignoring her strange reaction, Kakashi continued.

"Way farther than you can ever imagine?"

Nina responded in a playful tone and refused to explain to him in details. For a moment Kakashi thought she's only playing around with him, yet his instinct's telling him that there's a tint of seriousness lying within that sentence.

"Had the records been finished?"

The girl shook her head.

"How much did you learn from those?"

Nina looked at him for a little while before answering. And he noticed that Nina's reading his expressions very carefully and picking her words according to them. "Enough to get myself out of troubles."

"Beside what happened to Rin and Sharingan. What else do you know?"

Therefore mostly what she provided him was common info, except for one thing about Naruto being the son of Yondaime Hokage and having a giant-ass fox, which almost destroyed the whole village around twelve years ago, sealed inside him by his parents.

This giant-ass fox she mentioned must be the Kyuubi. Kakashi's sweat dropped at her interesting verbal choice. "Were you here when that disaster took place?"

"No, I would be dead by now if I was."

Nina stated like it's an obvious fact. And before Kakashi could ask her anything further, he heard her saying. "I know that you're dissatisfied by the amount of info I give you, however, I cannot tell you more."

"Why? No one is here to stop you from doing so."

Kakashi asked, clearly knew that what she had revealed to him was just a drop in the ocean.

"But what's the fun in there, right? Some stuff are better off not knowing until you encounter it. I'm sure you have realized that too."

In the end Nina swiftly mentioned an old friend's arrival. She didn't indicate who or when specifically, and Kakashi wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad sign.


Team 7 comes to understand after hearing Kakashi's explanation about my case. Surprisingly this time Naruto becomes quite understanding and doesn't make a fuss. While Sasuke, well, he doesn't seem to care whether I'm going to join or not.

Sakura then suggests me to ask the Third Hokage for a spot in the Chuunin exam. Believing that they will make an exception for me since I'm a special case.

"That's the point, Sakura. I don't want to be treated differently in a public activity."

I object the idea instantly, since it's too troublesome and definitely not worth the effort for something that is going to fail miserably. And I definitely cannot tell them that the test is only be taken by teams of three.

Once our discussion over, I walk home with Naruto.

"What's wrong, you look like you've been wanting to say something." After a while Naruto asks me.

That's because I'm stuck within his constantly bragging about winning against the strong guys in the tournament that cannot find a chance to speak.

"Well, I was just surprised that you would support my decision."

Hearing so, his happy-go-lucky expression soon withers. Naruto then stares at the paper in his hand for a moment before replying to me.

"I mean, the less you engage in battle, the less chance for you to use that, right?"

Naruto expresses his concern about me abusing the dangerous technique, admitting that it's actually not a bad idea if I don't participate in the Chuunin exam.

"It doesn't matter whether you're a shinobi or not, I will stay with you regardless."

Naruto states and asks me to restraint from using that power in any way, saying that he will definitely get stronger for both of us. So that I don't have to rely on such dangerous technique to fight difficult battles ever again.

And as much as I appreciate his kindness, his ideal sounds impossible. I won't deny the fact that he will become powerful in the future, but that time takes too long to come and I refuse to sit in one place waiting until then. Plus I don't intend to stay here forever.

I have to act fast or I will miss my change of returning home.

Next morning.

"Don't tell me you're scared."

While on my way toward to the market, I bump into Sasuke. And out of the blue he mentions the Chuunin exam, stating that Sakura's right about not being too late to ask the Hokage and my reason for not participating is because of something else.

Again, acting like he didn't care and then surprise me with his opposite action.

"Will you believe me if I say yes?"

My question causes him to frown, then seconds later he answers no. It's quite shocking to find that the Uchiha thinking of me so highly. Too bad for him however, he has put his trust in a wrong place.

"It's true, I am terrified."

Firstly, there will be Orochimaru, one of Konohagakure's legendary Sannin and Gaara, jinchuuriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku. The Forest of Death is like a giant mess and there's no way I'm going to get myself involve in.

Secondly, I do not want to see myself screw up the plot in some way. As in sometimes my emotions may kicks in so hard that I end up doing crazy things which I am not suppose to do. Like going solo against Orochimaru to save my comrades (only to get killed) for example...

And lastly, well, somewhere deep in my heart I really don't want to see them suffer. Even though already known how bad it is by watching anime and reading manga, I'm sure going through that scene again with my own two eyes would make it even more horrendous.

I maybe a coward for not coming along to help them but... This Chuunin exam is their tests, and they have to fight it on their own. In order to mature into talented shinobi in the future.

"You won't know how bad the test is until you try."

Sasuke recalls that all of us have gone through much worse situations than a single promotion exam. Plus this is only Chuunin, not even Jounin level. And stating that I may have been being too pessimistic.

Oh how I wish it was that simple. "I'm not as strong as you think I am, Sasuke."

I notice his eye twitches a little after hearing that sentence, then suddenly Sasuke snickers as if having heard a joke. "Say the one that almost smashed my head to the ground."

Damn it. I cringe hard by his counter while being forcefully recalled to our match last time. Back when I got caught in the heat of the moment and accidentally hit him with all my might.

"What's the point in saying all of this anyway? Are you trying to make me join the exam or something?"

"Why would I? The test's an individual choice, having you participate won't gain me any benefit."

And Sasuke tilts his head, once again acting like I've just said something stupid.

"Right..." I almost forget that we've just been informed by Kakashi that the test doesn't involve in any teamwork.

After hearing the news that everyone would be taking the test separately, team 7 had thought that their efforts practicing as a team to prepare for it had gone to waste. In fact it's actually not, but I couldn't tell them the truth and had no choice but to stay silent till the end.

The following day.

Sakura asked me to join her for some ice cream at a shop nearby, there she told me about her strange encounter with a mysterious shinobi, probably Iruka in disguise, and that he had used Genjutsu on her to test whether she's ready for the Chuunin exam. In the end Sakura passed his test, but she still found herself not ready for it however.

"I'm sure you would be a better candidate than me, Nina-chan."

Watching the people walking on the street through the glass window, Sakura sighs. No longer hide her worries of being lack of self-esteem and starts complaining of not being able to catch up to Naruto or Sasuke.

"It's the otherwise actually."

And I would be lying if admitting that her concerns are wrong. Because at this point of the story, Sakura's the one falling behind the most out of all three. That's why she needs to participate in this exam in order to grow, both physically and mentally.

"Stop joking around. We've already seen how you're capable of."

Her eyebrow raises and she doesn't seem to buy a single word.

"Only when I activate that power, without it I'm just a normal shinobi like any of you here. Probably even worse."

Therefore I explain to her. As Sakura gradually recalls to what happened back at the forest the other day and gasps, finally remember about the dangerous technique that she has personally asking me not to abuse in any way.

"But..."

Figure that she's going to say something negative again to support her ideal of not being suitable for the test. I chime in, "Everything will be fine. I believe in you, Sakura."

Not that I expect my words are going to work against her anxiety, because that would be Sasuke's job, not mine. But I hope it at least help, even for a little.

The day of exam.

I meet up with the team by the gate to see how they're doing.

As expected, Naruto's super hyped for the test as he doesn't stop jumping around expressing his enthusiasms. Naruto then promises me that the next time I see him, he will no longer be a weak Genin but a powerful Juunin that everyone will respect.

For Sakura's part, she's still nervous and indecisive. Though I can feel that she's somewhat calmed down than the last time I saw her at the ice cream shop.

Sasuke must have noticed something strange in her but doesn't say it out loud. Just standing by the side watching me and Naruto talking.

"Be careful out there, you guys."

Therefore I wish them the best, wholeheartedly as this will be the final memory of us all being happy together.

Naruto grins widely and gives me a thumbs up, Sakura nods to me reluctantly while Sasuke smirks, even jokingly say that I'm going to regret not participating and will suffer from a huge loss of continuously being a Genin.

In the end I bid the team final goodbye and watch them slowly disappear into the building up ahead.

From then on I'm being left all by myself, literally since Kakashi's too busy dealing with Orochimaru's mess to be here watching my footsteps.

Taking this chance, I decide to go on a trip at the areas beyond Konoha's gate in hope of finding some clues. The moment stepping one step out of the gate however, I'm stopped by the guards. And it turns out I'm not allowed to leave the village alone under any circumstances, especially without my supervisor, Kakashi.

Established more new rules, huh? How nice.

Figure that going against Hokage's order will be unwise, I have no choice but to stay behind. Wandering around the village, sometimes practicing by myself at the training ground, or finding anything interesting to do to draw away my attention from the Chuunin exam, which is now a hot topic flowing through every corner of the street.

Several weeks later.

After preliminaries are over, I hear from Sakura about what happened at the Forest of Death and now that Sasuke's hospitalized. Though she doesn't go into full details about how they've gone through that hellish stage or the reason for Sasuke's unconsciousness. I already have guessed that it's Orochimaru's fault.

Then Sakura tells me her plan of visiting Sasuke at the hospital tomorrow and asks me whether I want to come along. Therefore I agree and she quickly decides a place for us to meet. Soon we part our ways.

Later at night, inside Nina's room.

Around 10 P.M just as I'm about to get ready for bed and suddenly, I hear several knocks on my window, along with Kakashi's voice calling for me. "Nina-chan."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Once making sure that it's really Kakashi, I open the window to greet him. Still wondering why he would be looking for me at this hour. Strange, I don't remember having any meeting with him today.

However Kakashi doesn't step inside and remains standing by the windows. He smiles and extend his hand to me.

"Sorry for bothering you this late but I'm kind of thirsty right now. May I have a cup of water?"

Needless to say I'm confused by his strange request but agree to get one for him anyway. While looking for a cup on the cupboard, suddenly I feel pain on the back of my neck then everything instantly goes black. And the last thing I hear is Kakashi's faint whisper by my ear.

"Sorry, Nina-chan... But I'm going to borrow you for a little bit."

Borrow?! What the hell does he mean by that...

...

..

Soon I'm woken up by the bright sunbeams shining directly at my face. Then first thing comes into view is a clear blue sky and several white clouds slowly passing by. The sun is just right above my head and I feel hot wind constantly flowing against my skin.

Deeply confused, I sit straight up to look around. Only to realize that this is no longer my room but some mountainous area that I've never seen before. What in the world...?!

"Finally awake, huh?"

Suddenly I hear Sasuke's voice behind me and immediately spin around. Seeing him standing right next to Kakashi, having hands inside his pockets and greeting me with his trademark smirk.

"Long time no see."